Annual rotation - what an awesome video.Does anyone know if it is possible to get this on CD or tape?Their hives appear to be plastic. Looked alot simpler to maintain and use. Wonder if they're are available in the US?Does anyone use the bottom boxes as shown on the video?

These videos are very interesting. I've never seen the under hive box that she uses in the first video on rotation. For the drone cell removal for mite control, she just seemed to cut out the drone brood and stuck the empty frame back in. Is that what people are doing or do you need special foundation to encourage drone brood?

In the past, many bee keepers have taken a frame out of the deep (brood) box on the outside of the brood nest, maybe number 3 or number 8 and replaced it with a medium frame. The girls of course fill in the extra empty space below the medium frame with burr comb. This comb is almost always filled in with drone sized cells. So now you have a small section of extra, free floating drone comb on the bottom of this medium frame to check for mites. You went in with a capping scratcher and if there were mites in the sealed brood, you just cut that section of drone comb off the bottom of the frame and let them build it out again, thus removing all the mites in that whole section of comb.

Now they are saying that's not enough. The thinking now is you need to remove an entire frame's worth of drone comb from each brood box, so that's two frames if you run a two deep hive.

The manufacturers are responding to this and putting out both plastic and wax drone sized comb and foundation. The plastic frames even come in different colors, like dark green, so you don't have to remember which frame it is in each hive, just go to the green frame, pull it, freeze it and you're done!

This is of course only one part of an ipm system. Hope this helps, good luck! :D

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If you use drone foundation, you can be more sure of the size of comb they will draw. Without it, they may just draw worker sized comb, and the mites of course are more attracted to drone cells because they take 3 more days to develope. :D

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By the rude bridge that arched the floodTheir flag to Aprils breeze unfurledHere once the embattled farmers stoodAnd fired the shot heard round the world-Emerson

I put empty frames in all the time to get natural sized comb. IF the bees have been restricted by the use of foundation to less drone cells than they want they willd draw all or most of a frame full of drone. But if they have as much drone as they require, they will draw an entire comb of worker brood with a little drone in the bottom corners. They might even draw it half drone and half worker if they need SOME drone comb but not the whole frame.

If you want to increase the odds of an entire sheet of drone (for freezing etc) then I'd use the drone foundation.

I've watched these videos and they are really awesome. I must say, that is one tough lady - her BEE BRUSHING is a little rough and tough, but she sure gets ALL the work done (while her husband sits in the van - lol)

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I just watched this video on here, & I was wandering about wasp we have wasp problems here I have tried everything possible to keep it down , But now after watching this video I am wandering if this is going to be a waste of my time and money to go into doing cause I dont want to bring in bees and have slaughtered unless you guys have advise what to do I spray the house and attic every month it helps some but not enough for the wasp. Now I am kinda concerned

I've watched these videos and they are really awesome. I must say, that is one tough lady - her BEE BRUSHING is a little rough and tough, but she sure gets ALL the work done (while her husband sits in the van - lol)

Great shows!!!

how you like that brush John, a goose wing, beekeepers will use anything sometimes

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THAT's ME TO THE LEFT JUST 5 YEARS FROM NOW!!!!!!!!

Never be afraid to try something new. Amateurs built the ark, Professionals built the Titanic

We have wasps around here, too. We always have several that start on our house or barn or other places that we sometimes find the hard way. So far, none have ever been a problem for the hives that I have or, at least, haven't caused any damage I am aware of.. Of course, I live in a different climate than you do. Maybe they get better established there.